I write a weekly travel column for the Columbia Daily Tribune. This blog had focused on stories about American Indian Sites and includes more pictures than my column allows for. I added some stories about native people in other places and will now be putting in stories about American Presidents homes and museums and stories I have written about historical places and museums in the United States.

Friday, August 3, 2018

German V1 and V2 rockets

GERMAN V2
BOMB HISTORIC SITES

I recently gave a talk based on the book, Beyond the Beach: The Allied War Against France, written by my
son-in-law Stephen Bourque.The war with
Germany was a disaster for France.They
surrendered in seven weeks to Germany's blitzkrieg techniques.Britain lost much of its armaments but
rescued most of its troops from Dunkerque. France became a base of operations
for the Germans, and 40% of French manufacturing turned to producing war
materials and weapons for Germany.

Something that is seldom talked about was the rain of bombs this brought
upon the French population. Because
the Germans were making so much use of French facilities, the Allies attacks on
them caused must damage to non-military structures and civilian populations.

Day light bombing turned out to be inaccurate and the Germans could
shoot down more planes, so Britain took to bombing at night doing carpet
bombing in hopes it would destroy valuable factories making military equipment.
That insured even more collateral death and damage.

The allies bombed 1,570
French cities and towns killing 68,778 men, women and children over the course
of World War II.This was greater than
the damage done to Britain by the German bombings and attacks with rockets. More than
100,000 French were injured, and 432,000 houses were completely destroyed.

During Allied attacks on Normandy during landings we bombed railroads,
bridges and armored sites killing more French citizens, 10,000, than German
soldiers, 7000.

Germany's V1 flying bomb was a "Vengeance
Weapon" Hitler used against the British

Many of the bombing raids were against the
V1 flying bomb an early cruise missile that Hitler intended as a
"Vengeance weapon" against the British.He hoped to create terror in London as
revenge for the bombing they were doing in Germany.From French bases 9,521 were launched, but
with the use of antiaircraft, balloons on cables and fighter planes the Allies
learned to shoot many of them down. Debra and Steve were able to visit a V1
missile site at Val Ygot near Ardouval.

For my talk Steve had sent me pictures of areas bombed and one large
cement structure seemed especially important, "the blockhaus at
Eperlecques." This is a massive cement structure built by the
Germans with slave labor to house rockets V1 and V2.The
blockhaus was practically imperious to bombs, even bombs developed specifically
to destroy it.They did take a heavy
toll on slave labor that was being used to construct it.

To avoid detection the V2 was shot off mobile launchers that could be
moved around the northern part of France.The Allies spent much time and energy trying to find these sites and
destroy them, but they could be set up so quickly that it was almost impossible
to stop them.

The V2 rocket sites hurled bombs carrying a warhead of 2,200 pounds at
3,500 miles an hour at London.The V2
were so fast victims heard them incoming only after they had hit since they
were faster than the speed of sound. When it exploded it could create a crater
30-40 yards wide and 15 yards deep.

The
consequences of the V2 becoming
successful had implications for its danger to targets as far away as the United
States. Wernher
von Braun was the German aerospace engineer developing this rocket
technology.The German hope was that
with a little more time they could develop rockets that would reach the United
States. At the end of the war von Braun and his team escaped from Russia
territory to surrender to the U.S. Army. Braun and his team went on to advance
space science in America and help us reach the moon.

The V2 rocket did tremendous damage and given time may have
reached the United States

My daughter Debra Anderson made a number
of these research trips to France with Steve. They spent a lot of time in
Northern France where many of these sites are located.She recommends visiting the blockhaus at
Eperlecques, which has been converted into a museum.It's an impressive structure with
descriptions written in English and French.On their trip, they flew into Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris
and drove two and a half hours north.You could also drive south 30 minutes from Calais on the English
Channel.The museum has a website and
you should find the location on the map before venturing out.

There are also missile sites at Siracourt,
which is an hour south of Eperlecques and Val Ygot at Ardouval, another hour
and a half west.The coastal towns in
the area include Calais, Bologne-Rouen, and Dieppe, all of which are
pleasant.Debra and Steve particularly
enjoy visiting Rouen, which is rich in history.Claude Monet made numerous paintings of the cathedral there, and it has
a plaza commemorating Joan of Arc.Getting off the beaten path can make for an enjoyable, and often
surprising, adventure.